Liberated Zone (Befreite Zone) left me speechless. Three words describe how bad this German comedy is, and what it is really about: Nihilistic sex and Racism.
Sex is rampant throughout the movie (but surprisingly, no nudity) as all the couples, young and old, are cheating on each other.Most disturbing though is the racism encouraged in this film.
When a black player is brought to a small East German town, the fans throw bananas at him on the field. After he wins every game, they affectionately nickname him “Blondie”. But once the team loses, two enraged teens mug a Chinese shopkeeper they’ve derisively named Jackie Chan. When the shopkeeper kills one of the attackers with a sword, the town burns down his shop. The rest of the story is a joking stereotype of how a young wife ends up with a half-black baby.
The plot of how the town’s happiness rides on Blondie’s success is really secondary to the sex. The soccer in this movie is a shot of Blondie scoring on a header, used repeatedly.
This movie is such a downer, I felt depressed afterwards.
1 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 1
Resources:
- Release Date: 2004-05-13
- In German with English subtitles
- English title is Liberated Zone
- German title is Befreite Zone
- IMDB
- Director: Norbert Baumgarten
- The DVD has no extras
- I could not find a Trailer
